N.H. man arrested in 2014 standoff

LAS VEGAS — Federal authorities rounded up 12 people in five states on Thursday, bringing to 19 the number of defendants facing conspiracy, assault and threats charges in a 2014 armed standoff over grazing cattle on U.S. land near renegade cattleman Cliven Bundy’s ranch in southern Nevada.

Arrests of alleged co-conspirators in Arizona, Utah, Idaho, Oklahoma and New Hampshire came after a federal grand jury in Las Vegas expanded an indictment already filed against Bundy. It also names two adult Bundy sons and five other men already in federal custody following the end of a nearly six-week armed occupation of a wildlife refuge in Oregon.

Gerald “Jerry” DeLemus of Rochester, N.H., sits among a group of militia members camping on Cliven Bundy’s ranch near Bunkerville, Nev., in 2014. The Associated Press

Court documents accuse the men of leading more than 200 followers into an armed confrontation that forced federal Bureau of Land Management agents and contract cowboys to abandon an effort to corral and remove Bundy cattle from federal lands where he was accused of letting them graze for decades without paying federal fees.

Documents submitted following the Thursday arrest of Gerald “Jerry” DeLemus in Rochester, New Hampshire, said that DeLemus “organized and led armed patrols and security checkpoints” for several weeks around the Bundy ranch in southern Nevada.

DeLemus was running for Strafford County sheriff in New Hampshire when he was arrested. He appeared in custody in federal court in Concord, New Hampshire, for a detention hearing that was postponed until Monday. His wife, Republican state Rep. Susan DeLemus, said she planned to hire a lawyer for his defense.

At the family home in Bunkerville, Nevada, Cliven Bundy’s wife, Carol, acknowledged that her husband and sons Ammon, Ryan, Melvin and David Bundy were in federal custody. The mother of 14 adult children pleaded for prayer and echoed her husband’s call to fight government overreach.

“I truly believe this is showing the federal government thinks they have unlimited power over we the people,” Carol Bundy said in a brief telephone interview. “What kind of government do we have?”

“This is going to be won in the court of public opinion,” she added. “When we the people make a stand, that’s when we’ll win.”

Bundy supporters Ryan Payne of Montana, Peter Santilli Jr. of Cincinnati, and Brian Cavalier and Blaine Cooper, both of Arizona, were also already in custody. They were arrested Jan. 26 during the occupation of a federal wildlife refuge in eastern Oregon.

Here at MaineToday Media we value our readers and are committed to growing our community by encouraging you to add to the discussion.

To ensure conscientious dialogue we have implemented a strict no-bullying policy. To participate, you must follow our Terms of Use. Click here to flag and report a comment that violates our terms of use.